WATERBURY, CONN. – Resuming non-conference action Tuesday evening, the Queens College baseball team used an early offensive barrage and never looked back to defeat the Eagles of Post University 14-8 at Municipal Stadium.
With the win, the Knights improved to 16-9 overall to win their eighth straight game, while the Eagles moved to 13-20 overall.
The Knights' offense combined to hit for the cycle with 12 hits for 14 runs with a double, two triples, and three home runs as East Coast Conference Player of the Week senior
Louis Antos (West Islip, N.Y) (2-3 AB, HR, 5RBIs, BB) led the way with five RBIs as four Knights combined for multi-hit performances. While the freshmen trio of
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) (2-3 AB, 3B, 2RBIs, 3BB),
Matt Filip (Maspeth, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, HR, 2RBIs, 2R, BB) and
Juan De La Rosa (Dominican Republic) (2-4 AB, HR, 3RBIs, 2R) combined for five hits and seven RBIs on the evening.
While the pitching staff of senior
Stephen Castro (Bayside, N.Y.) (2.0 IP, 4H, 2ER, BB), junior
Dean Fazah (Queens, N.Y.) (W, 3-1, 2.0 IP, 2H, 2ER, 3BB, 3K), freshman
Joshuel Rodriguez (Bay Shore, N.Y.) (3.0 IP, H, ER, 2BB, 3K) and sophomore
Dante Interlandi (Massapequa, N.Y.) (2.0 IP, H, BB, 4K) combined for eight hits and 10 strikeouts in the win.
The Knights started strong as junior
Jayson Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y.) (2-6 AB, 3B, RBI, 2R) kicked off the inning with a triple before Cisco tallied back-to-back triples driving home Rodopoulos for a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Antos put the Knights up 2-0 with a sac fly out to left-field to score Cisco.
But the Eagles would get a run back in the home half of the first inning taking advantage of a fielding error.
Queens responded with four runs on three hits in the next frame as the Knights had runners on second and first on a walk and hit by a pitch to open the second inning. After the Eagles got the first out, a wild pitch would advance both runners into scoring position. Sophomore
Andrew Smith (Hampton Bays, N.Y) (1-4 AB, RBI, 2R, BB) put the Knights 3-1 with a RBI single to score Filip.
Rodopoulos put the Knights with a 4-1 with a single as Filip scored from third. Queens would tally the Knights' third straight hit to put the Knights up 5-1 before Antos put the visitors in a commanding lead of 6-1 with another sac fly out to left-field.
Once again the Eagles would cut into the Knights' advantage with a solo shot to center field to bring the score down to 6-2.
But the Knights would offense kept building their lead as they opened the third inning with a walk before Filip blasted his fourth home run of the season over left field for a two-RBI blast to the Knights up 8-2.
The Eagles attempted their comeback in the home half of the third with back-to-back singles before Fazah relived Castro out of the bullpen. But the Eagles would load the bases with a walk before Fazah struck out the next batter for the first out. With bases still loaded, a sac fly brought in the third run for the Eagles before Fazah induced a popped-out to Rosa for the last out to leave two runners stranded on bases.
With the Knights leading 8-3, Cisco began the fourth inning with a walk as Queens had a runner on the bases for the fourth straight inning. Antos would put the game away for good with a two-run blast for his sixth home run of the season as he blasted a shot over left-center field giving Queens a 10-3 lead.
The Eagles would cut the score down to 10-5 in the home half of the fourth but the Knights would tack on runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth capped off by Rosa's first home run of the season as Queens defeated Post for the fourth time this season to win 14-8 Tuesday evening.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights return to East Coast Conference play on Friday (Apr. 15) afternoon as they welcome the Spartan of St. Thomas Aquinas College to Flushing. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
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